Bitcoin Billionaires Winklevoss Twins Sue Crypto Pioneer Charlie Shrem
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the “first bitcoin billionaires” and the founders of cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, have reportedly filed a lawsuit against crypto pioneer Charlie Shrem.
Shrem, the 28-year-old Bitinstant founder who served time in federal prison for knowingly selling bitcoins to people who said that they wanted to use the funds to purchase drugs on now-defunct dark web marketplace Silk Road, has claimed that he went to prison with virtually no money. However, in the two years since his release, he has lived an affluent lifestyle, acquiring millions of dollars in property, as well as multiple Maseratis and powerboats.
Now, according to New York Times crypto lead Nathaniel Popper, Shrem’s former business partners — the Winklevoss twins — have filed a suit alleging that he stole 5,000 bitcoins from them in 2012, coins that are now worth more than $31 million and were valued at nearly $100 million at their Dec. 2017 peak.
